Veronika Wild

  The Golden Way - apologies for the poor picture quality in these. Only had my phone with me and it doesn't seem to capture the true vibrance and colour I may have missed the main blossom season, but on Sunday I went to Knocklofty – a nearby bushland reserve which lies a little higher up the mountain and where there were still quite a few wattles in bloom. Though the larger, showier Silver Wattles were already in decline, it was a chance for some of the more subtle ones to shine.  It was a glorious sunny morning and everyone seemed to have the same idea. Families with children were out and about, also the joggers and dogs walking their owners. Birds sang. I heard parrots in the trees - Kookaburras, mournful crows and a bird that sounded like it was saying “Get a job.” I really wanted to try to catch the sound of the “Pobblebonk” frogs but their ponds were already dry. Lovely as they sound, I hope the Kookaburras -an introduced species, weren't responsible for their absence....

  -Image by Minke Wink from Pixabay Oops almost missed it. Did you know it was International Sloth Day today or yesterday depending on which side of the Dateline you are on? Slothness is not Laziness Sloths are endearing, slow moving creatures of the rainforests of Central and South America. They are not lazy as has been reported. They just move very slowly and are able to slow their metabolism right down. Until recently this has been an excellent survival strategy. They move so slowly that creatures which prey on them don’t know they are there. This has served them well for the last 35 million years or so. Their other trick to evade predators is that they attract green algae which afford them camouflage among the leaves. Though some species have evolved to be good swimmers, most rarely come down from the trees and spend most of their time hanging upside down from branches even when they give birth. Normally they are nocturnal and subsist on leaves, fruit and insects wi...

Start of the Leslie Vale Track  Af ter the Mt. Dromedary fiasco, I have set my sights a little lower literally this past week and my friends and I have gone for gentler, shorter walks, not far from home. On both days the weather was still a bit drizzly, hence the rather dull picture quality, but quite pleasant walking weather all the same. The first walk was the Leslie Vale Track through horsey country at the back of Kingston.   This is in fact one of several horse trails in the area and should take about an hour and a half if all goes well. The first part travels through farmland alongside the main highway and then does a short traverse through the bush before re -emerging between five acre paddocks. Unfortunately, we then came upon a “Y” junction which was not marked on the map and with no indication of whether to go left or right.   This seems to be the story of my life lately. Since this was to lead us to a road, we decided on the route to the right, w...

  I forgot to mention it yesterday, but just before we got to Tahune, a Superb Lyrebird crossed the road in front of us – a rare sight as they are normally very shy. The remarkable thing about the Lyrebird is its ability to mimic other sounds. I was telling Miss Ten that the last one I saw - also in this area, on my first walk to Adamson’s Falls, sounded like a chainsaw and she said, “Is that why they call them Liar birds?” You'll see why they call them Lyre birds when you have looked at one of the clips. For information about their habits, feeding and breeding click here .     Lyrebirds are not native to Tasmania but were initially introduced from the mainland by Lady Franklin in the 1800’s. In the 1930’s and 40’s fearing mainland extinction due to habitat loss   and the presence of European predators such as foxes,   several more   were released near Hastings- just south of here,  and Mount Field.   Beautiful as they are, as with most i...